Bonn: Muslim 'prince' to lead carnival
A Muslim will govern the West-German town of Bonn in the upcoming days. Iranian born Prince Amir I, will hold the scepter until Wednesday as prince of the carnival in the Rhine town, which was once the capital of West-Germany. Bonn is one of the German towns where the carnival is enthusiastically celebrated. The motto this year is 'Bönnsche Saache - drövver laache' (Bonn issues, laugh about it).
Amir Shafaghi was born in Tehran in 1970. Ten years later he emigrated with his parents to Germany. His nomination to the carnival prince led to a problem last month. The Dean of Bonn forbade him from addressing the worshipers in the Munster church during the annual carnival mass. Bonna Uta, the prince's Christan spouse, replaced him. The Dead and the archbishopric of Cologne, which includes Bonn, did not want to comment on the case.
For Amir it's not an issue if he can lead an originally Catholic holiday as a Muslim. "Naturally I can and the Persian could too." He refers to the New Year's in Iran, which lasts 13 days. The streets and house-fronts are colorfully decorated and 'uncle New Years' wearing traditional clothing sing and dance and entertain the public at every street corner. They call Iranians to put their concerns and cares aside, and to look optimistically to the future.
Source: Telegraaf (Dutch)
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